Chapter Fifteen

The ride home from Boston was a blur for Regina. As always the engine vibration and warmth of the sun streaming in the passenger side window lulled her to sleep minutes after they were on the highway. She didn’t wake up until they were coming off their exit from the parkway in New Jersey and Alex reached over and shook her gently. Regina decided as she looked out the window at the familiar scenery, that coming back home was strange especially after the crazy week she and Alex had spent together.

Not surprisingly, Alex retreated farther into her self by the time she pulled into Regina’s driveway. Regina suspected that Alex felt much the same as she did. Tired and nervous about the meeting on Monday, both of them wondered what they would do with the feelings they had for each other now that they were going back to the hospital. That is, if they didn’t lose their privileges on Monday.

Retrieving her bag from the back of the Jeep, Regina stood up and found the taller woman standing in front of her. Alex tilted her head and gave her a crooked grin.

"What?"

Alex simply leaned forward and gathered Regina in her arms, holding her tight. Regina started to pull away but the doctor held her close and whispered in her ear. "Thank you,"

Regina wanted to ask for what but decided against it, instead just enjoying the moment for what it was. There was a strength she found wrapped in those arms, a sense that no matter what happened, they would endure and go on together.

Finally releasing her, Alex picked the blonde’s bag up and followed Regina into her condo. She set the bag down and waited nervously as Regina turned on the lights. A part of the doctor wanted desperately to stay, but the other half was terrified even to ask, afraid that now they had returned to reality, Regina would have second thoughts about any kind of a relationship with her. So lost in her battle of self-recrimination that Alex didn’t realize Regina had walked up behind her until strong arms slipped around her waist and pulled her close. She gasped at the contact.

The sharp intake of breath wasn’t lost on the young woman and she laid her head on Alex’s back, kissing her through the cotton shirt. She loved the feel of the woman she was holding in her arms and pressed closer, savoring the contact. Regina felt the brunette relax slowly in her embrace and she realized how much effort it had taken for Alex to let her into her life as much as she had this past week. She released the taller woman as she turned in her arms and watched the flicker of raw emotions in her companion’s eyes.

"I should go. You must be tired." Alex ran her thumb gently over Regina’s lip, then leaned in and kissed her gently on her lips. She felt the younger woman’s hand timidly rest on her hip and she backed off, letting her forehead touch Regina’s. Oh boy, come on – leave before you start something she’s not ready for. The dark woman stepped back and let her hand fall away. "I’ll see you Monday, Regina." Alex turned away and walked quickly out of Regina’s house.

The blonde watched sadly as her friend left. She felt Alex pulling away from her and it made her heart ache in a way she never felt before. Just when she thought she was beginning to understand she woman better she’d turn around and do something like this. Too tired to think about anything, Regina slipped out of her clothes and crawled into bed falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The shrill ringing of the alarm roused her from her sleep. Confused, Regina slapped her hand at the clock radio sitting on the night table knocking it to the floor. The irritating noise stopped and then started again a moment later. Through her sleepy haze, Regina finally realized it was the phone that she was hearing and not the alarm. Rolling out of bed she stumbled across the room to pick up the phone and mumbled a barely intelligible hello.

Her mother’s voice on the other end of the line brought her instantly awake.

"Where the hell have you been?" Her mother asked testily.

Regina sat down on the edge of the bed rubbing her face, trying to wake up. "I spent some time with a friend who needed me."

"You were with that doctor." Her mother’s voice was full of accusation.

So Derrick did tell you where I was. Damn him. After a moment of shocked silence, Regina found her voice. "Mother, who I choose to spend my time with is no concern of yours."

"I can’t believe you just left like you did. That was a terrible thing to do to us."

"You didn’t leave me a choice. You should never have called Derrick in the first place, mother." Regina stood up, slipped into her robe and walked out of the bedroom. She’d been wondering when or how she would talk to her mother after the argument she had with her. Guess this is it. Wonderful.

"You could have at least stayed and talked with him after he drove all that way to see you." Her mother continued to press the issue.

Regina almost laughed at this. "Mother, you don’t get it. I don’t have anything to say to him." Regina pulled open the refrigerator door. She wrinkled her nose at the meager contents.

"He cares about you, Regina."

"Oh bullshit, mom!" She remembered with satisfaction the sound of Alex kicking him in the ribs and wishing it had been her own self doing it, instead. "Mother, you have no idea what he’s really like. Besides, it doesn’t matter anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Her mother snapped.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Mom, this is going nowhere. Why did you call me?"

"Have you thought anything about what this is going to do to your career? Do you think anyone is going to want a…a."

"The word is lesbian, mom," Regina interjected.

"I know what the word is. Do you think anyone is going to want you to take care of them when they find out what you are? Have you thought about that at all?" Her mother’s voice was thick with anger.

Regina turned around and leaned up against the wall. "Mother, just stop it. I’m the same person I was before and I don’t need to justify my life to anyone," Regina snapped. The past three months and more - specifically the last forty-eight hours - had more than convinced her of that. "I’ve spent the last ten years lying to myself and to everyone around me. I’m not going to do that anymore."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Her mother’s voice, when she did speak, was cold and callous. "Well, I guess we don’t have anything else to discuss, then."

"Mom." Regina put her hand down on the counter to steady her self against the empty ache building in the center of her chest. "Please, don’t do this," but the line was already dead. "Shit."

She started to dial her parent’s number but stopped, setting the phone down on the counter. Regina knew her mother was upset. It was bad enough when Jeffrey came out to her and now it wasn’t just one child she thought she lost, but two. Why should her mother’s reaction to her be any different than it was for Jeffrey?

Wiping the hot tears running down her face, she walked out of the kitchen. She couldn’t believe her mother was doing this. She’d sacrificed a relationship with her oldest son for the past fifteen years and now it seemed like she was willing to do the same to her daughter.

Depressed, Regina crawled back into the bed and pulled the covers up, gratefully letting her body drift back to sleep.

******

In between mundane chores and mindlessly watching television, Regina ended up sleeping her way through most of the weekend back at her condo. Monday morning arrived too quickly and the resident was more than a little nervous as she sat across from the four doctors that made up the medical review committee.

She let her eyes focus on the wall behind them as she sat waiting. She knew two of them. One, Dr. Samuels, was the head of pediatrics and the other was Dr. Timmons, the head of radiology. The other two she had seen on a couple of occasions around the hospital but had no interactions with.

The door opened and her heart sped up as Dr. Jameson walk in. He made a point of greeting the other doctors and all but ignored Regina as he sat down at the end of the table. When he finally did look up, he made a show of checking his watch and sighing loudly.

"So, where is Dr. Margulies?" He looked pointedly at Regina and she met his gaze trying hard to hide her own nervousness. "Maybe she has decided to spare us all the aggravation and not show up today. That would be nice, wouldn’t it gentlemen?" He asked, as a self-satisfied smirk crossed his face.

"Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Dr. Jameson." Alex stepped through the door and walked into the room, followed by Dr. Cassandra Mitchard and another man that Regina guessed was an attorney for the hospital.

Regina watched with interest as Alex walked over and pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. She was wearing a pair of black pants with thin suspenders crossed in the back of a white mandarin collared shirt. Her expression was hard and focused as she made eye contact with the medical director. The doctor’s facial expression softened slightly as she glanced down at the young woman who was looking back up at her.

"Well, now that we’re all here." Dr. Jameson said. "Let’s get started. It’s no surprise that the Martin family has named the hospital in a lawsuit. They are suing for damages suffered as a result of the accident and the medical care rendered by this facility."

"You’re talking about two different issues, Dr. Jameson." The man dressed in the three-piece, black, pin-stripe suit who walked in with Alex and Dr. Mitchard, leaned forward in his chair.

"The police investigation already proved the ambulance driver was speeding and lost control of the rig. As for the autopsy report, well, let it suffice to say that someone with epilepsy should not have been driving in the first place."

He sat back and scribbled a note on his pad. "By the way, Dr. Jameson," he asked looking pointedly at the medical director, "aren’t you directly responsible for overseeing the hiring of the paramedics for the medical center?" The attorney tapped the tip of his pen slowly on the pad of paper and glanced up at the medical director with a predatory gleam in his dark eyes.

Cassandra leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrowing as she listened to the verbal posturing between to the medical director and the hospital attorney.

Dr. Jameson shifted in his seat, his face reddening slightly. "We’ve been over that already. His condition wasn’t listed in his history and physical."

"Yes, well that’s not why we’re here. I think we can address that later."

Regina leaned closer to Alex and whispered in her ear. "Sounds like he’s been taking some heat for this."

Alex nodded her head, her attention focused on Dr. Jameson who did his best to appear unruffled by the question.

"Let’s get to the issue of why these two doctors were out there in the first place," one of the doctors across the table said.

"Yes, Dr. Kingston, as senior resident you know the hospital’s policy. Why did you go out to the car?" Dr. Jameson remarked snidely.

Regina ignored Dr. Jameson’s attempt to rattle her and leaned forward looking at the doctor who spoke first. It was a split-second decision and she’d followed her instincts that night. "The husband was frantic. I wanted to see if the paramedics were there yet. I thought if he knew his wife was getting the help she needed, he would feel better."

"So, why did you go out to the car, Dr. Kingston?" The first doctor repeated his question, obviously not satisfied with her answer.

Regina stared at him. "I’m sorry I didn’t get your name."

"Dr. Newsome."

"Dr. Newsome, are you married?"

"That has nothing to do with this, Dr. Kingston." Dr. Jameson snapped testily from the other end of the table.

"I don’t think so." Regina said, ignoring him as she continued to look at the solidly built brown-haired doctor sitting across from her.

"Yes, I’m married," the doctor replied.

"Good. Then put yourself in that man’s place, Dr. Newsome. Your wife’s in labor and you have a serious car accident on the way to the hospital." Regina set her hands on the table and leaned forward. "You run into an emergency room to get help and the staff tells you they have to call 911. Wouldn’t you want the hospital to do what it could to save your wife and your unborn child or would you rather stand by helplessly waiting for the paramedics to arrive and hope it’s not too late when they do?"

"That’s quite enough, Dr. Kingston." Dr. Jameson slammed his hand on the table. "The fact remains you and your cohort here broke with hospital policy. You left the building to provide medical care you are not trained to provide."

"Dr. Jameson." Alex twisted around in her chair so she was facing him. "We might not be paramedics but we sure as hell are doctors trained in emergency medicine, so we are more than capable of handling a trauma outside in the field."

He glared at her from across the table. "So well trained, in fact, that the woman lost her leg because of your actions," he shouted at her.

Regina reached her hand out to touch Alex’s arm, seeing the doctor’s whole body tense at the obnoxious remark. Regina thought Alex was going to go over the table at Dr. Jameson.

"If we didn’t stop the bleeding, she would have bled out and died, along with her baby, long before the paramedics would have gotten to her," Alex shot back at him. "I made the decision to use a tourniquet so we could save her life and give that baby a chance. If I had to do it again, I would."

"You see!" Jameson was out of his chair waving his hand in Alex’s direction. "She puts the medical center at risk and admits she’d do it again. What the hell are you waiting for? There’s no question she should have her privileges to practice medicine here revoked." His jugular veins were bulging and his face was flushed red by the time he finished his ranting tirade.

"Enough!" Cassandra said, slamming her fist down on the table. There was silence as everyone stared at her in surprise. She glared at both of them. "Jim, sit down. Everybody just calm down."

Dr. Jameson huffed angrily and dropped into his chair, sulking.

Alex leaned back in her seat. She felt Regina’s grip relax on her arm as she took a couple of breaths to calm her racing heart. "I hate that bastard," she muttered under her breath.

Cassandra looked at Regina and Alex. "The board needs to ask both of you some questions and then we’ll take a break. Dr. Samuels, why don’t you start?" Cassandra offered.

"Dr. Margulies, what did you find when you got to the truck?" The gray-haired doctor asked.

Alex leaned back in her chair and focused on the man sitting across from her. "Mrs. Martin had a compound open fracture of her tibia and fibula. She was losing arterial blood and was going into shock. We controlled the bleeding using a tourniquet just below the knee and started an IV using Ringer’s Lactate to start fluid resuscitation."

"I thought you said you didn’t have any medical equipment with you?" Dr. Timmons interjected, leaning forward across the table.

"She didn’t." Regina jumped in. "I took a trauma kit from the storeroom and brought it out to the truck."

"Who applied the tourniquet?" Dr. Samuels asked, leaning forward as he read over some notes in front of him.

"I did." The resident answered.

"Did you monitor the pulse in the foot while it was on?"

"I checked it once a couple of minutes after I put it on. The pulse was still strong at that point. Mrs. Martin was well into the second stage of labor by the time I examined her, and her labor was progressing quickly at that point," Regina explained.

"Why didn’t you monitor the pulse, Dr. Margulies?" Dr. Samuels, asked turning back to Alex.

"I couldn’t reach down to where her foot was because the dashboard was pushed up in to the middle of the console. Dr. Kingston could just barely fit in between the seat and the dash herself to deliver the baby." Alex nodded to a manila folder of pictures sitting next to the attorney. "You can see for yourself in the pictures what the truck looked like after it was hit by the ambulance and spun into the utility pole."

"When did the paramedics arrive?" Another of the other doctors asked.

"I just delivered the baby and was checking its vital signs when they got to the truck." Regina responded.

"What happened after they arrived?" Dr. Timmons asked.

"Dr. Kingston brought the baby to the ER and turned him over to the neonatologist. I stayed with Mrs. Martin until we brought her into the emergency department and transferred her to the OR."

Alex leaned back in her chair and looked at the doctors sitting around her. She knew all of doctors sitting there; in fact, one of them trained her during her own critical care rotation. Under the circumstances, she knew they did everything medically possible. It was going to be a decision based on whether the hospital was willing to change its policy or not.

Dr. Mitchard broke the silence at the table. "I think we have enough from the both of you for now." She looked down at her watch. "Meet us back here at one o’clock."

Regina looked up at Alex. She was already pushing her chair back and standing up without another look back at the committee. Regina followed her out the door. The cool air of the hallway was a welcome relief from the heated atmosphere inside the conference room.

Alex turned around and looked at Regina. "You did great in there." She rested a hand on Regina’s shoulder. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving, in fact." Regina hardly ate all weekend, choosing instead to boycott reality and sleep more than half the time away.

Alex shook her head. "Come on, let’s get out of here."

They rode the elevator down from the fifth floor in silence. Regina followed Alex through the back hallway into the cafeteria. She picked up a sandwich, a bottle of water and frozen yogurt, then waited by the door for Alex to appear with her tray of food. The doctor checked her watch as she waited in line to pay for her own food.

"Why don’t we just eat in here?" Alex offered as she walked up to Regina.

Regina nodded her head and walked with her over to an empty table in the back of the cafeteria. It was crowded and Regina saw several residents whom she recognized from the various rotations. Most of them gave her a cursory glance and ducked quickly over to their own tables. She realized as she ate her sandwich, that they probably knew about the meeting today and were uncomfortable about seeing her here, unsure of what the final outcome would be.

Alex leaned across the table. "You really threw them in there by making it personal. That was a good idea. I would have never thought to do that."

Regina looked up and shrugged. "It should be personal. That could have been any of them that night. They needed to know that. What is with Jameson?" she asked in between bites from her sandwich. "He was ready to blow a gasket in there."

"He wants me out." Alex speared a piece of meat with her fork.

"Why? You never told me what happened between you two." Regina looked up at Alex’s face. The dark-haired woman looked tired and despite the cool outer façade, Regina could see the nervous tension outlined in her face.

Alex shrugged her shoulders and sat back, pushing her food around on her plate with her fork. "It’s old history," Alex explained as she looked up at Regina. "Some drug company offered Dr. Jameson a research grant to trial a new drug. He asked the doctors in the ER to take part in it. Every time we administered the drug we filled out some paper work for the study."

Alex gestured with her hands. "I know it doesn’t sound like much, but then we started to get these ‘gifts’ from the company. First, it was tickets to basketball games, then as the volume picked up so did the size of the gifts. I backed out of the study along with some of the other physicians in the ER. Since I was the first to back out, Jameson blamed me when the hospital administration came down on him for accepting the gifts."

Regina pushed her tray away from her and leaned across the table. "That’s Medicare fraud."

Alex sighed and nodded her head. "I know. It was a long time ago and the laws weren’t as strict then as they are now. Today, it would be a whole other ballgame. He got a slap on the wrist for what he did, but he still blames me for the trouble he got into."

"Nothing like holding a grudge, huh?" Regina looked across the table, at Alex, her mind straying from their conversation.

She decided she really liked the outfit Alex was wearing, especially the suspenders and how they accented her shoulders and narrow waist. Regina realized she was staring as Alex tilted her head and gave her a questioning look. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Uh, sorry I just went off there for a minute. I guess we should get back," the blonde quickly mumbled, looking down at her watch. "It’s almost one." Went off? Yeah, right. Good thing she can’t read your thoughts, Regina.

"Right." Alex said, gazing back at her. She leaned forward, ignoring the questioning glances from around them as she looked into Regina’s eyes. "Listen, whatever happens when we go back, don’t you ever think what you did was wrong. I told you the night that this happened that I’d do it again and I still mean that."

Regina ducked her head feeling the heated blush creeping up her face. "Thanks, Alex."

Alex straightened up and picked up their trays. Walking to the exit she dumped them on the conveyor belt and walked out of the cafeteria with her colleague.

They could hear angry voices shouting as they stepped off the elevator and walked down the carpeted hallway toward the conference room. Regina looked back at Alex, uncertain if they should go in, but Alex shrugged her shoulders, stepped forward,and opened the door.

Dr. Jameson was sitting at the end of the table, his eyebrows knitted together and jaw muscles clenched in anger. Dr. Mitchard was standing at the opposite end, leaning on the table with her hands, staring at him. She looked up as Alex and Regina walked in together and took their seats at the long mahogany table.

"Well, gentlemen. I think we have reasonably covered all the issues." She glanced over at Dr. Jameson and then spoke to Alex and Regina. "Do either of you have anything you want to say or ask before we go on?"

"I do, Cassandra," Alex said.

"Doesn’t that figure," Dr. Jameson said, condescendingly.

Alex shot him a withering look. "Do you remember the fifteen-year old boy that was shot outside a medical center in Chicago about four years ago?" Alex asked, turning her attention back to Dr. Mitchard.

"I remember." Cassandra nodded her head. "Go on."

"His mother pleaded with the medical staff to come out and take care of him. They said they couldn’t because their hospital policy didn’t allow them to. So instead, they called 911 and transported him to another facility. He died before he got there."

"What’s your point, Dr. Margulies?" Dr. Jameson asked, looking bored as he stared down at his hands.

"My point, Dr. Jameson is that we did the right thing. That hospital in Chicago changed its policy after the fact. But it took them losing a life to do so. I don’t think you would want that kind of publicity here," Alex explained.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Dr. Jameson asked, his upper lip curling into a snarl.

"I’m just saying that maybe we need to look at the policy this hospital has before something like that happens here."

"So you want us to re-write the policy so you can keep your ass out of trouble. Isn’t that convenient."

Dr. Mitchard put her hands up. "Stop it, both of you. I don’t want a repeat of what happened earlier. We already covered all this, Jim, it’s a moot issue. If they didn’t go out there, the woman would have died along with her child. There’s no question in my mind or anyone else’s here that these two doctors did the right thing." She looked at Alex and Regina. "The vote was four to one against revoking both your privileges."

Dr. Jameson slammed his hand down on the desk and stood up, causing his chair to bang into the wall behind him. He threw his pad of paper across the table in disgust. "Like that was a surprise. Cassandra, you’ll regret this, mark my words."

Cassandra leaned across the table and glared at him, her eyes darkening as her anger built up inside her. "Dr. Jameson." Her voice was low and quiet. "I suggest you find someone to update that policy. Last time I checked, we were still in the business of taking care of people, not bickering over whether we do it in or out of the hospital."

The medical director shoved the chair out of his way as he stormed toward the door and yanked it open.

She watched the door close behind him and shook her head. "Well, we’re finished here. Nice to have you back Dr. Margulies, Dr. Kingston."

"Thanks." Alex stood up from her chair and walked to the door.

"Dr. Kingston, a moment please."

Regina hesitated and walked over to the vice-president.

"I know Dr. Jameson suspended you without pay, but we’re reversing that decision. You’ll get that pay check this week," Dr. Mitchard told her.

"That’s great. Thanks, Dr. Mitchard." A sense of relief flowed through her. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

Alex held the door as Regina walked out of the room. "Shall we check out the unit and see what’s up?" She grinned, knowing what Regina’s answer would be. The two walked together to the elevator.

"Absolutely."

They walked down the corridor strewn with stretchers and wheelchairs, and passed through the double doors into the emergency department. It was in its usual state of organized chaos, a code cart stood outside one of the rooms, a baby was crying in another and a drunken man was shouting obscenities at one of the interns who was trying unsuccessfully to draw the man’s blood.

Regina stopped at the desk and looked up at Alex. "Feels good to be back, huh?"

"Yeah." Alex stopped at the vacant desk and leaned against it, looking at Regina. "You had a big part in that, you know."

Regina frowned and then her expression softened as she read the serious look on Alex’s face. "Alex." She started to say something else but Alex held a hand up.

"Later. We have company."

Regina turned around and saw Sandy and Dr. Torres heading toward them. Both had a hesitant but hopeful expression on their faces.

"Please, tell me that you’re down here because you’re coming back," Sandy pleaded, giving Alex a wary look.

Alex folded her hands, looked down at the floor and didn’t say anything.

"Well?"

"We’re back," Regina said, and yelped as Sandy wrapped her in a big hug.

"Oh thank god. That’s the best news we’ve had all week. This place has been a madhouse. A couple of us are going out to Merrigan’s, Friday night. You should come with us." Sandy squeezed Alex’s arm and pulled her into a hug. "Damn it, I’ve worked with you for how many years now. Margulies? Give me a hug."

Alex made a face and squeezed her back.

"So, what’s going on?" The dark-haired woman asked, breaking away from Sandy.

"What’s not, is more like it." Sandy crossed her arms, taking in the thoughtful look on the doctor’s face. "When’s your first shift?"

Alex grinned. "Tomorrow. I already checked the schedule. Guess we’ll see you all then." She turned to Regina putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let’s go get your car."

Chapter Sixteen

The following night it seemed things returned to relative normalcy as Regina walked down the hallway from the ambulance bay. A brown-haired boy about four years old was cradled on one hip, and walking next to her holding her other hand was his older brother.

Sandy looked up as she walked past the desk. "Hey, who do you have there?" She peered over the counter top at the two boys.

Regina shifted the boy in her arm, settling him higher up on her hip. "This is Mason." She nodded her head to the one standing next to her holding her hand. "And this is his brother, Thomas. Their mom’s in room five. The ambulance driver brought them in with her. Nobody to take care of them at home," she explained.

"Hi Mason. Hi Thomas." Sandy smiled down at them.

"Who are you?" Thomas asked, standing up on his toes to get a better look at her.

"I’m Sandy." Thomas nodded his head as if satisfied with her answer. "Guess they’re staying with us for awhile, huh?"

"Yeah, they may be admitting their mother." Regina lifted Mason up onto the counter, giving her arm a rest. "Anything special we need to do?"

Sandy thought about it for a minute. "There’s no family we can contact?"

Regina shook her head. "No, the mother has custody of the boys and there’s no other family in the state."

"I’ll call a volunteer and see if they can come sit with them." Sandy drummed her fingers on the desk, thinking. "We won’t do anything until we know if mom’s being admitted."

Regina looked up at the clock. "You’re not going to get a volunteer at this hour."

"Nine o’clock? Ooh, I didn’t realize it was that late. You’re right." Sandy looked around the ER. "Well, we’re not too busy right now. I think we can handle them for the time being."

Sandy turned away, her attention drawn toward Alex as she walked out of one of the exam rooms shaking her head. "What are you laughing at?" The nurse inquired curiously, seeing the wry grin on the doctor’s face.

The dark-haired attending leaned on the desk, her braid falling over her left shoulder as she rested on her elbows. "I just got propositioned by an eighty-six year old – man." Alex stopped mid-sentence, cutting off the less than flattering description she had on the tip of her tongue, when she caught Regina out of the corner of her eye standing at the end of the desk with two young boys in tow.

Sandy crossed her arms and grinned. "Lucky you. What did you tell him?" She couldn’t resist teasing Alex since opportunities arose so infrequently.

Alex smirked, leaning across the desk and whispered in her ear. Sandy glared back at her and smacked her hard in the arm. "You jerk! Great, just great. And now I have to go in there and put a catheter in him?" She stalked around the desk and grabbed Alex’s arm. "You’re coming with me."

"Hey lady." The young boy standing next to Regina pulled on Alex’s lab coat. "What’s a prop?" He stopped and frowned. "A proposition?" he asked, sounding out the word.

Alex stopped and peered down at the inquisitive face peering up at her. "Uh." She looked up at Regina who scowled back at her, arms crossed over her chest, waiting for Alex’s response. Oh boy, you’re in for it now. "Um, it’s an offer," she struggled to explain the word to the boy without getting herself into more trouble.

"For what?"

Alex swallowed and looked over at Sandy for help and got none. Ok, so this is what it means to be hung out to dry, Alex thought wryly. "It could be for anything."

Regina snorted and shook her head. "All right, show’s over guys. We need to go find your mom." She lowered Mason back down to the floor and started to turn away.

"No. I want to know." Thomas demanded and tugged impatiently on Regina’s arm.

"Nope. Come on, let’s go." Regina glared back at Alex.

Sandy snickered at the predicament Alex managed to get herself into and elbowed her in the ribs. "Ooh, you just pissed her off."

"Yeah, thanks for jumping right in and helping me out there, friend."

"Ah, but it was so much fun to watch you try and get yourself out of trouble."

******

"Mrs. Frank," Regina leaned over the stretcher and touched the woman’s shoulder. "Your boys are here. I know you wanted to see them before you went down for your tests."

The frail-looking, dark-haired woman rolled over and peered down at the two boys standing beside Regina. "Ah, Thomas, come here."

The older of the two boys stepped closer. "What Momma?"

"I need you to look after your brother while I’m here. You’re both going to behave yourselves, right?"

"Yes, Momma." Thomas leaned up against the stretcher and took hold of her hand.

"Mason?"

"I don’t want you to go," Mason started to cry.

"Now, there’s nothing to cry about. The doctors just need to check some things and I’ll be back in a while. Promise me you’ll be good."

Mason nodded his head, wiping the tears off his face. "I promise."

Moments later the transporter appeared and wheeled the stretcher out of the room, taking the woman down to the radiology department. Regina turned around and looked down at the two boys standing beside her and tried to think of something that might keep them occupied and out of trouble, while Sandy figured out who could watch them.

"Let me see. I want to listen," Thomas said, reaching up for the instrument hanging around Regina’s collar.

"Ok." Regina pulled the stethoscope from around her neck. She held the metal prongs open, letting him grasp the earpieces and stick them in his ears. Thomas walked over to his brother.

Regina sat back and watched them, enjoying the comedy being played out between the two of them. She glanced up at the clock. It was already ten o’clock and their mother wouldn’t be back from radiology for a while yet.

"Let me listen to your heart, Mason." Thomas reached out his hand and placed the stethoscope on his brother’s stomach.

"I don’t hear anything." Thomas looked back at Regina. He frowned and tapped the plastic covering, blinking in surprise as the sound registered loudly in his ears.

Regina stifled a giggle. "Thomas, where’s your heart?" Very seriously, he pointed to his stomach. "That’s a little low, don’t you think?"

He threw his head back, letting out a loud laugh. Regina grinned and slid off her stool, kneeling down beside him. "Here." She lifted the piece up and placed it over his brother’s heart. "Do you hear it now?"

Mason looked up at his brother. "What’s it sound like?"

"Thud-thud, thud-thud," Thomas said, as he listened intently and moved the piece around his brother’s chest. Mason’s lower lip started to quiver. "Hey, why you crying’?" Thomas pushed his brother in the shoulder.

Regina looked up at the younger boy. "Mason, what’s wrong?"

"Mom’s heart’s broken. Is it going to sound like that anymore?"

Regina cocked her head, suddenly confused. "Mason, your mom’s heart is fine," she said reassuringly.

"No, it’s not. She told me so." Tears rolled down the boy’s face.

Regina sat back on her heels and reached out for the boy. She heard the door open to the room and turned around to see Alex looking in at her. Their eyes met for a moment and Alex gave her a quick smile of apology. "Sandy is trying to find someone who can stay with them." The dark-haired doctor walked over to the stretcher and sat down, watching the two boys warily. "Everything all right?"

Regina shrugged her shoulders and looked back at Mason. "What did your mom say about her heart, Mason?"

He sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "S…she said that daddy broke it when he left." Mason threw himself against Regina and wrapped his arms around her neck, holding her tightly in his grasp.

"Stop crying, Mason," Thomas said.

"Thomas, it’s all right if he cries." Regina said, reaching out and ruffling the older boy’s hair.

Regina wrapped her arms around Mason and lifted him up. She walked over to Alex and deposited the smaller boy into her lap. "Here, hold him. I’m going to see if there’s a room I can get them settled in."

Taken aback, the doctor’s blue eyes widened in surprise. She slipped her hands around the boy’s middle and set him gingerly on her thighs. "I…I think the room across from the nurse’s station is open," Alex finally managed to get out, looking at the boy like she was holding a piece of china.

"Good. I’ll be back." Regina turned and disappeared out of the room.

Alex peered down at the little boy. He curled himself up against the doctor, one hand clutching her lab coat and the other wrapped around her upper arm, holding her tightly. Thomas climbed up onto the stretcher and sat cross-legged peering up at Alex. "Are you going to make my mother better?"

"We’re going to try," Alex said carefully.

A little while later, Regina walked back into the trauma room carrying a couple of stuffed animals and two small gowns from the pediatric floor. "You two ever sleep over at a friend’s house?" She looked at Thomas and Mason. They both nodded, staring back at her. "Well, that’s what this is going to be like tonight." Regina looked at Alex. "Sandy got a couple of beds from the hallway so they can sleep in the empty room."

"Did she find anyone to watch them?"

"Not yet and Jameson is already giving her a hard time about keeping them here."

Alex’s brow creased at the worried expression on Regina’s face. "The Division of Youth Services isn’t open now so he can’t call them until the morning. We’ll figure something out."

Alex stood up, cradling Mason awkwardly in her arm, and headed to the door. "Let’s go, guys. It’s bedtime." She pushed the door open and held it for Thomas and Regina to walk through.

"Since when do we run a day care center?" Dr. Jameson asked, as he met them in the hallway. He stared down at the two boys in contempt.

"Since their mother is having testing done, and there’s no family for them to stay with." Alex glared back at him defiantly.

"There has to be someone. Make sure you call family services as soon as you know she’s being admitted. We can’t keep them here indefinitely." Giving them both a cursory glance, he walked quickly down the hallway.

Regina gave Alex a worried look. "He can’t do anything, can he, Alex?" The young doctor followed the taller woman into the room Sandy set up for them.

"He can’t do anything unless she’s going to be admitted and then it’s up to the mother if she’ll give consent to place them temporarily," Alex reassured her.

"Hey, doc?"

"What?" Regina looked down at the serious expression on Thomas’s face.

"Mason can’t go to sleep unless mom tells him a story."

"Oh." Regina scratched her head and looked at Alex.

"Don’t look at me. I sure don’t know any." Alex set Mason down on the bed next to his brother. She patted Regina on the back. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Regina looked back at Thomas. "Ok, I think I can do this."

Alex listened for a minute as Regina started to tell them a story and then quietly shut the door behind her. She walked over and leaned against the desk, looking back into the room across from the nurse’s station.

"Alex."

"What?" Alex asked without turning around. Regina was sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed talking to both of the boys; one of them tilted his head back and laughed, falling over onto his side in a fit of giggles.

"Why don’t you go in there? We’re not busy and your shift is over," Sandy told the attending. "They’re just kids."

Alex turned her head and scowled at the nurse. "Very funny, Sandy. You know kids aren’t my forte."

Sandy looked up at Alex and chewed on the end of her pen. "Hmm."

"If the mother needs to be admitted we’re going to have to call family services in the morning." Alex looked back inside the room. She hated the thought of having them placed in a foster home even temporarily, but she hadn’t figured out a way to get around that particular problem yet.

Sandy stood up and put a hand on Alex’s shoulder pulling her close to her. "I don’t think it’s the kids that are bothering you."

"What are you talking about?" Alex quickly shrugged Sandy’s hand off of her in irritation.

"I think you’re scared of her. She got in there, didn’t she?" Sandy leaned forward and tapped Alex’s chest.

"Yeah right, Sandy." Alex pulled away from the nurse, giving her a puzzled, almost angry look.

"Oh don’t bullshit me, Alex. How long have we worked together, now?" Sandy saw the look of surprise on Alex’s face and smirked. "You bring the kid home when she got sick, you did the blood work for her tests -ha, you even resigned your damn position so Jameson wouldn’t go after her."

"You know you are so full of shit." Alex clamped her mouth closed as Regina appeared at the desk and looked up at the two women.

"Hi." She was surprised to see the scowling blue eyes. "What’s up?"

Alex glared back at Sandy. "Nothing. Not a damn thing." She pushed away from the desk and stalked off down the hall.

"Ooh, what got into her?" Regina asked, watching Alex disappear into the staff lounge.

Sandy shrugged indifferently and walked off to check on a patient.

Regina stood at the desk for a moment, trying to figure out what happened, and then walked down the hall. She opened the door to the lounge and stuck her head inside, seeing dark-haired woman sitting at the table hunched forward, her hands idly spinning an empty can of soda between them. The resident stepped inside the door and closed it quietly behind her.

"Do you mind the company?"

The bowed head raised up and Alex sat back in her chair. "Hi."

"Mm. Hi yourself." Regina walked over and sat down in the chair next to the doctor. "You ok?" She watched as the woman fidgeted nervously with the tab on the top of the soda can.

"Yeah, I’m just tired." Alex rubbed her eyes.

"Did Sandy say something to upset you?" Regina leaned forward, trying to see past the guarded expression on Alex’s face.

Alex stared at her then dropped her eyes down to the table. "You’re getting the restraining order tomorrow, right?" she asked, ignoring Regina’s question.

Regina gave Alex a puzzled look. "Yeah, I go to the courthouse at ten in the morning."

"You want me to come with you?" Alex broke the tab off the top of the can and dropped it inside.

"I didn’t think you could."

"I might be able to get someone to cover for me at the meeting."

Regina studied her companion from across the table. Something was bothering the older woman but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what it was. "Alex…whoa." The lights went out and they sat in total darkness.

"They’re just checking the emergency generator. The lights will come back on in a second," Alex explained quietly.

"Oh."

Seconds later, the emergency lights flickered on, dimly illuminating the lounge. "I’m going to go check on Mason and Thomas. Hopefully they’re already sleeping." Regina stood up and walked out into the hallway.

She heard Mason calling out for his mother before she even got to the room. Regina walked over and picked him up off the stretcher. "Hey, you’re ok. Your mother will be back when she’s finished with her tests."

The boy would hear none of it and continued to cry inconsolably.

"Geez, who’s got the set of lungs I can hear all the way down the hall?" Alex pushed the door open and walked inside behind the younger doctor. Mason hiccupped and reached his arms out for the taller woman.

Regina laughed. "Well, we know who his favorite is."

Alex rolled her eyes and gathered Mason up in her arms. "God only knows why," she replied as Mason wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and held on for dear life.

Regina frowned, hating when Alex put herself down. "Hey, isn’t your shift over now?"

The taller woman shrugged her shoulders. "I’ve got a ton of paperwork to catch up on. Figured I’d stay and get some of it done." She looked down at the boy hanging off her hip. "You want to help me?" Brown, tear-filled eyes looked back at her and Mason nodded his head. "You agree now, but wait thirty years or so," Alex chuckled wryly.

The blonde watched the interaction between the doctor and the boy quietly, then walked past the dark-haired woman. "I’m going to call radiology and see what’s taking them so long." Regina slipped out of the room, glancing back as Alex gathered a pile of charts in one arm and set them on the counter.

The doctor sighed as she looked down into the brown eyes. "Listen, Mason, you need to go to sleep." Alex placed him on the hospital bed behind her and glanced over at his sleeping brother. Who are you kidding? You’re just staying here so you have a chance to be around her. You just can’t admit it now, can you? With a sigh, Alex sat down on the stool and opened the first in a huge stack of charts she needed to review.

Moments later, two hands touched her shoulder, and Alex glanced up to see Mason standing on tiptoe in the bed, leaning over the railing and peering over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading."

"What are you reading?"

"Work stuff," Alex sighed. "Mason, you’re supposed to be asleep."

"I’m not tired," he announced and rocked back and forth on his feet restlessly.

"Uh-huh." Alex spun around on the stool and regarded him seriously. "Do you know what happens if you don’t go to sleep?"

"I don’t believe in the boogey-man."

"You don’t?"

"Nope."

Alex rubbed her eyes. Shit, now what? "Come here." She lifted her arms up, expecting the boy to just lean forward; instead he jumped from the mattress and she scrambled to catch him in mid-flight. "Whoa, what do you think, you can fly?"

"I like to fly," he giggled, balancing himself on her muscular thighs.

"And how do you manage to do that?" She frowned, holding him firmly in her grasp.

"On a swing and then I jump."

Alex chuckled as she got an idea. "I’ll make a deal with you. You get to fly once and then you go to bed. Deal?"

Mason eyes sparkled and he nodded eagerly.

"Ok, here goes Champ." Alex stood up off the stool and lifted him up high over her head. He squealed and laughed as she turned him in her arms and held him upside down, before setting him back on his feet.

He smiled back up at her. "That was fun. One more time, please?" Mason tugged her hand impatiently.

The dark-haired woman glanced out the door then, quickly scooped the boy back up into her arms. Mason giggled as he was lifted overhead and then set back down on the floor.

"Oh sure, Miss ‘Kids Aren’t My Forte’. You’re just a an overgrown version, yourself."

Alex jerked her head up to see Sandy standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. "I…I was just bribing him to go to sleep."

The curly-headed nurse rolled her eyes and walked over to the doctor. "I could think of better ways." She pursed her lips and regarded the doctor coolly. "Don’t stay too late, Alex. I let the next shift know about our two visitors here so someone can come in and watch them when you’re ready to leave."

Alex nodded and sat down on the stool, feeling rather foolish for having been caught with her guard down. "Sandy, do you know if that nurse up on pediatrics still takes foster kids?"

"Sheila?"

"Yeah, the red-head."

"I think so, why?"

"Their mother probably isn’t going to agree to being admitted if she has to give these kids over to youth services. There’s no guarantee they’ll keep them together in foster care."

"So, you want to see if Sheila will take them for a few days?"

Alex leaned back against the desk and blew out a breath. "Yeah, I do."

Sandy looked at the two boys. Thomas was curled up on his side fast asleep and Mason was leaning against Alex, his arms draped over her thigh. "He’s taken a liking to you."

Alex glanced down at the curly brown head and then rubbed his back affectionately. "I think he reminds me of my brother."

The nurse ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I’ll give Sheila a call and see what she can do."

"Thanks, Sandy." Alex’s eyes watched her walk out of the room. She looked down as two small hands pulled on her lab coat. "What, Mason?"

"Can you do it again?"

Alex smiled crookedly at the boy. "Sandy was right. There has to be a better way to get you to go to sleep. Alright, just one more time."

By the time Regina extracted herself from the sudden influx of patients, it was well after one in the morning. She finished writing the orders on her last patient and pulled the order tab up, slipping the chart into the cart next to the unit clerk. On her way to the on call room, she stuck her head in the room across from the nurse’s station to check on the two boys. She couldn’t help the surprised smile that spread across her face, when she saw Alex sprawled out on her back on the hospital bed, sleeping. A pile of charts lay untouched at her feet and Mason was curled up next to her, his head resting on her shoulder and a hand clutching the lapel of her lab coat.

The image stuck in the young doctor’s mind long after she left the hospital that night and headed home from her shift.

******

The blonde sat in the courtroom leaning back against the hard wooden bench, silently praying that Derrick wouldn’t show up today. It wasn’t unusual for him to have at least one or two days a week that he spent in court waiting to testify for cases he was involved in.

Regina closed her eyes, wishing that Alex been able to come with her. She got held up at the medical center at the last minute and left Regina a message that she probably wouldn’t make it over to the courthouse in time. Not that there was anything the doctor could do, but she just wanted her presence and moral support.

The resident sighed as she thought about Alex. It was so hard to read her. The older woman kept everything inside closely guarded and despite the time they spent together, Regina wondered where their friendship was ultimately headed. She really wanted to get to know the woman better but it was almost impossible to get her to open up since they had been back from their suspensions.

She closed her eyes trying to calm her nervousness. A part of Regina still couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. She had never been afraid of someone hurting her until Derrick changed all that several months ago. Her last violent interactions with him convinced her to stop making excuses for Derrick and get a restraining order.

It was a simple enough process and without Derrick to argue his side of the story, the judge quickly granted the restraining order after he read over the police and hospital reports Regina brought with her to the court.

The somber faced gray-haired man looked over the ornate desk at Regina. "You understand that he can’t come within five hundred feet of you. The only complicating factor is his job. Once his suspension is over, and he is reinstated to active duty, I can’t restrict his access to the hospital if he has reason to be there. Any questions?"

Regina shook her head, reaching up and taking the papers from the judge.

"Well, good luck then."

The resident slipped on her trench coat and walked hastily out of the courtroom. A slight breeze was blowing and the first autumn leaves were swirling down from the trees, fluttering around her feet. Regina tugged her coat closely around her as she walked along the broken sidewalk. A car door slammed shut somewhere ahead of her as she approached her own car and she heard her name being called.

Looking up, she stopped in her tracks. "Shit."

Derrick pushed himself off of his police cruiser and stepped around, blocking Regina’s path. He looked her up and down his dark, angry eyes boring into her. "You bitch. I can’t believe you did this."

"Get away from me, Derrick." Regina summoned as much anger as she could to hide the fear she felt inside her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she moved to step around him.

"You got me fucking suspended!" He moved, blocking her again. "They stuck me with desk duty for a month." Derrick stared down at Regina. "Do you know what that’ll do for my chances of getting promoted?"

Regina stepped back. "I don’t care, just leave me alone, Derrick." She heard another car door slam shut and footsteps came running up behind her.

"You better back off, Derrick." Alex growled as she stepped up beside Regina protectively.

"What’s wrong? Didn’t I beat your queer ass enough last time?" Derrick taunted, his upper lip curling up in a snarl as he glared at taller woman.

"I’m not the one nursing broken ribs, now am I?" Alex retorted sharply.

Derrick glared at her. "Get lost, this is between Regina and me."

"I’m not going anywhere."

"You need to drop the charges, Regina," Derrick growled, turning away from Alex.

"Like hell I will. I’ve got a retraining order, Derrick. Stay the hell away from me." Regina stepped around him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He reached out to grab Regina’s arm and yelped in surprise as Alex stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, twisting it painfully behind his back.

"Derrick, one last time, back off, unless you want a matching set of ribs. Believe me, I’ll gladly accommodate if you like," she hissed in his ear.

"Let go of my wrist," he snarled.

She yanked his arm up higher, forcing him to bend over. "You leave her alone, you sick bastard."

"I meant it when I said I got a restraining order against you, Derrick." Regina glared at him, feeling braver now that Alex was there. "A month is nothing. If you keep harassing me, you’re going to end up in jail again and next time you won’t just be suspended."

Derrick blinked and hesitantly looked around them aware of several curious stares from people walking by. He shrugged away from Alex as she released his wrist. "You’re a damn fool for getting involved with this bitch, Regina."

"Save it, Derrick. I don’t care what you have to say."

"Yeah? Well, why don’t you ask her about her dyke friend who deals drugs? That’s right." He took in Alex’s surprised expression. "It’s amazing who you meet when you spend a night in the slammer. Go ahead and enjoy your time with this one, Regina. When that bitch gets out of jail, Alex, she’s coming for you and there isn’t going to much left when she’s finished."

"Go to hell, Derrick." Regina stepped closer and put her hand on Alex’s arm.

Looking at the two of them in disgust, he spat at their feet and walked away. Regina felt Alex slip her arm around her shoulder. "You ok?"

"I didn’t think you were coming."

"Dr. Ortiz covered for me at the meeting. Are you all right to drive back to the hospital?" Alex felt Regina trembling under her arm.

"Yeah, I just need a minute." Regina steadied herself and walked slowly toward her car. "Alex, what’s going on with Dana?"

The dark-haired woman stared down at the ground as they walked, knowing she needed to tell Regina what was going on. "I can’t get into it now, Regina, it’ll take too long. We’ll talk Friday night." She saw the doubtful expression on the blonde’s face. "I promise." She knew she’d been keeping her distance from Regina since they got back, mostly trying to sort out her feelings for the younger woman. The doctor squeezed her shoulder and walked with the resident to her car.

Alex held the door open as Regina slipped inside behind the steering wheel. "I thought you’d want to know, one of the nurses on pediatrics is taking the boys for a couple of days. The mother gave her consent this morning," Alex commented quietly, leaning against the side of the car as she watched Regina settle in her seat.

"How did you manage that?" Regina darted a quick surprised glance up at the blue eyes that were looking back at her.

The dark-haired woman shrugged casually. "I know a couple of the nurses on pediatrics take foster kids. I just got lucky that one of them could take Mason and Thomas for a few days."

"So the mother is staying to get the procedure done then?"

"Yes, she should be ready to go home in a few days." Alex nodded her head, wondering how something as simple as Regina’s smile could make her feel this warm inside. "I’ve got to get back or Dr. Ortiz is going to have a fit. Are you going to be ok?"

"I’m fine, Alex." Regina reached out and grabbed her hand. "Thanks for finding a place for those kids to stay."

"It was luck it worked out that way." Alex smiled down at her. "I’ll see you tomorrow night."

Chapter Seventeen

Regina sat on the rolling chair hunched forward over the stretcher. She spent the last ten hours totally immersed in patients with hardly a chance to breathe in between. She chewed on the end of her pen as she worked out the last calculation for a patient’s medication before she wrote it on the order sheet. Closing the chart, she sat back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. Done, she smiled to herself.

It had been a good week overall, she reflected in the relative quiet of the empty trauma room. No one died in the ER this week, which meant there were no grieving families that she had to tell the heartbreaking news to; her fever had been gone since Sunday, so the most unpleasant thing the young doctor dealt with was getting the restraining order against Derrick. His suspension didn’t come as a surprise, since he was arrested, but if anything it left Regina feeling that he was becoming more unbalanced and desperate since his job was on the line.

Unexpectedly, the door swung open and Alex poked her head into the room Regina had hidden herself away in. "There you are. I thought you might have left already."

Regina looked up and smiled at Alex’s slightly disheveled appearance. Her rumpled lab coat hung limply around her shoulders and there were a variety of suspicious looking stains scattered over the front of it.

"No, I needed a quiet place to finish up these notes. It was a zoo out there today." Regina pushed the chart away from her and leaned back in the chair, watching as Alex stood hesitantly inside the brightly lit room. Her usual outwardly cool demeanor seemed to waver momentarily as she shifted her feet and glanced over her shoulder nervously. Finally, as if coming to some decision, Alex walked over and sat on the corner of the desk.

Alex regarded Regina for a second. "Do you still want to go out to the bar with these guys?"

Regina looked up at the woman before her. "Of course. You didn’t change your mind, did you?" Regina asked, hoping that Alex hadn’t. Regina and Sandy spent the greater part of the week cajoling and coaxing the doctor into going out with the small group from the ER Friday night.

"No, no I haven’t. Just wanted to make sure you were still up for it."

"I am," Regina said, cheerfully. She was looking forward to the time they would be spending together even if it were in a group.

"I’ll meet you over there then. I’ve got a couple of things to finish up yet."

"Anything I can help with?" Regina asked.

Alex shook her head. "No, just boring administrative stuff. Thanks for offering, though."

Regina smiled to herself as Alex turned and walked to the door. If she hadn’t known better, it seemed like Alex was nervous about going out to the bar. What’s going on in that head of yours, Alex?

The blonde waited until she was alone in the room and then picked up the phone. She dialed her number at the condo and waited until the second ring, then typed in the access code. There was only one message from Jeff returning her call, congratulating her on having her privileges re-instated at the hospital.

"Damn." Regina set the phone back down in the cradle, a sad expression crossing her face. She’d left two messages on her parent’s answering machine during the week asking her mother to please call her. They’d both gone unanswered.

Knowing her mother could shut her out like this hurt her deeply. Even though she didn’t get to see them much they were still her family, and potentially losing that was hard to bear. Regina blinked back tears as she picked up the chart, walked out of the trauma room and slipped the chart into the rack by the unit clerk.

She walked into the locker room to shower and change her clothes. From what Sandy told her, the bar was an old local establishment where the medical staff often went to forget about work, engaging in what the residents affectionately called ‘liver rounds’.

******

Regina stepped into the darkened, smoky interior of the restaurant and walked past the crowded bar, ignoring some of the leering stares she got from the businessmen hunched over their drinks. She headed over to the room where the pool tables were.

Sandy was leaning up against one of the tables as Regina approached, watching intently as Dr. Washington lined up a shot. Regina watched as he sank the eight ball in the corner pocket. He hung his head and banged the edge of the table with his fist in frustration. The nurse let out a triumphant shout and danced around the floor.

"Ha! You’re buying the next round, Jon. That’ll teach you to tell me I don’t know how to play pool." Sandy crowed as she taunted the tall, lanky doctor from across the table.

"Shit." He set the pool stick on the table and flopped dejectedly into his chair. His face brightened when he looked up and saw the fair-skinned resident watching the commotion. "Hey, Regina. Come on over." He pulled a chair out at the table for her. He glanced over her shoulder. "Where’s Alex?"

"She’s still at the hospital. She said she’d be here after she finished up." Regina sat down in the chair and slipped out of her jacket.

Sandy set her mug of beer down on the table. "Hey, do you play pool Regina?" Her face was flushed and Regina figured that Sandy already had one or two beers in her.

"Be careful, Regina. She’s a shark, just like Alex. Don’t let her fool you," Jon warned her playfully.

Sandy stuck her tongue out at him. "You’re just a sore loser. Why don’t you make yourself useful and go get us another pitcher of beer?"

Regina watched as Jon balled up a napkin and tossed it at Sandy before he walked over to the bar. "I’ve played once or twice." The resident turned back to the nurse.

"Well, com’ere then." Sandy tugged Regina off the chair and pulled her over to the pool table. "I’ll teach you, before the others get here." She racked up the balls and set the cue ball down at the opposite end of the table. "This is how you break."

Regina watched in quiet amusement as Sandy sent the balls scattering in several directions.

"Why don’t you try?" Sandy handed her the pool stick and reset the balls up in the rack.

Regina lifted the cue stick in her hands and looked dubiously at it. "I haven’t done this in years."

"It’s easy. Just like riding a bike." A warm, familiar voice floated down from behind her.

Startled, Regina turned around to see Alex standing at the table behind her. Her dark hair hung loosely around her shoulders and the black leather jacket contrasted nicely with the white shirt and faded jeans she was wearing. "Oh, hi," Regina said, her face brightening. "I didn’t know you were here."

"Just walked through the door." Alex smiled back at her. "This is Tina." She nodded to the woman standing beside her. "She works up in labor and delivery."

"Hi, Regina." Tina walked up, shook Regina’s hand, then glanced over at Sandy who was leaning against a table and draining her mug of beer. Regina watched as Tina walked over to the nurse and brushed her hand over the back of Sandy’s shoulder as she stood next to her.

"I take it Sandy is trying to teach you how to play?" Alex walked up beside Regina, eyeing the balls neatly corralled in the rack. She glanced over at the two nurses. "You have no shame do you?"

"What did I do?" Sandy asked, giving Alex an innocent look.

"You’ll teach her all of your bad habits and then challenge her to a game. I know your style, Sandra." Alex looked back at Regina and winked at her. "She won’t admit it, but I taught her everything she knows."

"Good thing you’re here to keep her in line, Alex," Tina chimed in from the table as she poured herself a beer.

"No. Good thing you’re here. She’s your responsibility now, not mine, Tina," Alex replied cheerfully.

Sandy swatted her hand at Alex as she walked past her. "Don’t listen to her, Regina. She’s just jealous, cause I beat her last time we played."

"That was a fluke. Besides, we’re about to change that as of tonight" Alex hefted a pool stick in her hand and balanced it easily on two outstretched fingers.

Jon walked back over and set the pitchers of beer down on the table. "Oh boy, I sense a challenge here."

"Hi, Jon." Alex looked up at her colleague. "Where’s Chris? I thought she was coming out with you tonight," she said, referring to his wife.

"She got called in to help out in the OR. A couple of people called out with the flu. It’s going to be one hell of a winter with this strain." He looked at his watch. "I’m going to head over there and catch her in between surgeries. Hey, its good to have you both back." He walked past Alex and patted her on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Jon." Alex turned to Regina after he left. "Let’s see you break’em." She pointed at the balls on the table and stepped back to watch.

Regina leaned over, and sent the cue ball careening across the table; with a loud crack, the tightly packed balls scattered. "Ooh, I think we have solids, Alex."

"Indeed, we do." Alex grinned mischievously at Sandy.

"Oh, I’ve only played once or twice," Sandy said in a mocking voice, and gave Regina an evil look as she strode past her. "You are both in serious trouble. We’re playing best two out of three."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Can’t we just make it one game?" she pleaded.

Sandy shot her a look. "No."

"Ugh." Sulking, Tina sat down on one of the empty stools. "Don’t get me wrong," she said, leaning closer to Regina as the fair-skinned resident returned to the table. "I like the company but I hate straight bars."

"Say it a little louder why don’t you?" Alex walked over to her and twirled the stick menacingly in front of her. "We’ll be using these sticks to fight our way out of here."

Tina snorted and rolled her eyes. "Like I said, I hate straight bars. Sandy promised me we’d go dancing after this. I have to go make sure she still remembers she made me that promise."

"While you’re at it, why don’t you two break first," Alex told her. "I wouldn’t want Sandy to think that we have an unfair advantage or anything." She settled down next to Regina and smiled at her, resisting the urge to brush a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "How are you doing?"

"I’m ok." Regina stared into the beer she was holding. They spent most of the week literally passing each other in the corridors, catching bits and pieces of disjointed conversations, settling back into a routine that made Regina fear that what small, tentative steps they made in getting to know each other the week before would quickly be lost.

"Just ok?" Alex asked, searching her face.

"I missed you," Regina said, looking up at her.

Alex’s blue eyes widened in surprise, and then she stared down at the table. She wasn’t prepared for Regina’s blunt honesty and it caught her completely off guard.

Regina thought she could see Alex’s face flush in the dim light from the overhead fluorescent bulbs. For a long moment, they were both silent, until Alex finally met Regina’s steady gaze.

Sandy looked up from the pool table and cleared her throat loudly. "Hey, are you two going to sit there all night or are you going to play?"

Alex sighed and stood up slowly from the stool. "Why? Are you in a rush to get your ass kicked?" She picked up a cue stick and leaned down next to Regina’s head as she scraped chalk on to end of the long tapered wooden rod. "I missed you too, Regina," she whispered softly in her ear.

Regina felt the warmth from Alex’s breath tickle her ear. A tingle of electricity ran up her spine as Alex brushed past her and walked over to the table.

The resident watched as Alex lined up the shot, nailed the cue ball, and sent two solids into a corner pocket. She cleared two more balls from the table as Sandy looked on in disbelief.

"That is not fair," Sandy complained as Alex handed her the cue after finally missing a shot, and sauntered back to the table.

"No, not fair would be if I chose to clear the entire table on my first attempt."

Regina couldn’t help the smile and warm flush she felt as Alex winked down at her. She heard the stool scrape on the floor as her companion pulled it forward to sit down behind her.

"Nice shot." Regina turned around to see Alex’s eyebrows lift as she took a swallow of her beer.

"Thanks." Blue eyes twinkled back her.

"Hmm?" Regina said, missing what Alex said after that.

"I think you’re up." Alex gently nudged Regina from her chair as Sandy missed her shot.

Sandy stepped back as Regina stood holding the cue stick, looking at the disarray of balls on the table. "Great. You didn’t leave me anything, Sandy."

"That would be the idea, Dr. Kingston." Sandy reached out to pick up her mug of beer. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Tina smiled and wagged a finger at Sandy while snatching the mug from her reach. "You promised me, we’d go dancing if I came here. If you keep drinking, you’ll just fall asleep like you did last time."

Regina laughed at the pitiful look on Sandy’s face. Shaking her head, she leaned over and stared bleakly at the table. Alex walked up beside the resident and looked over Regina’s shoulder, studying balls scattered over the table, then, pointed at the green ball. "There. You can get that one in the corner pocket."

Regina turned her head and straightened. "Yeah, you might be able to make that shot."

Alex grinned at her. She walked over to the ball and held her finger next to it. "Hit it right here. Not too hard. It’ll go right in."

Regina looked at Alex and bent over, setting her shot up. She tapped the white cue ball lightly and heard Sandy smack her forehead and mutter several choice words as she watched the green ball roll smartly into the corner pocket and rattle down into the cup. Alex just smiled confidently at Regina and sat back down on the stool to watch as she cleared two more balls from the table.

They played two more games, splitting the last two. "My condolences, Sandy," Alex teased her as she set the cue stick on the table.

"Just wait until next time. That was just beginner’s luck," she said, pointing in Regina’s direction.

"Hey! Who said anything about beginner’s luck?" Regina protested.

"Not me," Sandy grinned. "We’re going to go dancing. You two want to come along?" she asked ignoring the elbow Tina quickly jabbed into her ribs.

Alex shrugged indifferently and looked over at Regina. "What do you want to do?"

"Can we take a rain check? I think I’ve had enough of bars for one night." She was tired of the noise and the thought of another hot, crowded bar was not very appealing to her.

They walked outside to their respective cars and Tina ushered Sandy over to hers, opening the passenger door. She waved to Alex and Regina as she slid into the driver’s seat.

Alex turned so she was facing Regina. "What are you up to now?" She asked, fiddling with the keys on her key ring. She felt like a nervous teenager and wished she could come up with something more original than that to say to this woman.

Regina lowered her eyes and shook her head, stifling a laugh. "Nothing." She looked back up at Alex and smiled. "I thought maybe we could just spend some time together." She hoped her voice didn’t sound as nervous as she felt.

"I think we can arrange that." Alex smiled down at Regina. "It’s nice out." She looked up at the sky. "Why don’t we go for a walk by the reservoir?"

"Sure. Lead the way." Regina waved her hand out in front of her.

Alex hesitated, looking back at Regina’s car. "How about we drop your car off at your condo first?"

"Why?"

Alex glanced down at Regina, raising an eyebrow. "So you still have one tomorrow. Unless of course, you’re trying to get rid of it."

"Oh, I didn’t think of that," Regina laughed.

"Come on."

******

"Where are we?" Regina asked, as they stepped out of the Jeep. She shut the door and turned around, looking at the darkened landscape around them.

Alex walked around the Jeep and stood close behind Regina. "It’s just one of the parks that runs through the reservation. There’s a reservoir down there through that trail." She pointed over Regina’s shoulder.

"What trail?" Regina squinted, trying to make out what Alex was pointing to in the darkness.

"Come on, I’ll show you." Alex stepped forward, taking Regina’s hand in her larger one and leading her toward the dark shadows that slowly transformed into trees, as they walked closer. She led the way through the darkness, picking her way down the winding trail that she frequently went running on.

As the trees thinned out, Regina could see the dark outline of the water and heard the waves lapping gently up against the shoreline. She glanced up at Alex as she walked along side of her now silent companion. There she goes again, she thought to herself as she recognized the quiet pensive expression that frequently came over Alex’s face.

"Hey, where’d you go off to?" Regina squeezed Alex’s hand.

The taller woman glanced down at her, a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. "Just thinking." The brunette slipped her hand out of Regina’s and walked beside her companion in silence for a bit. She was nervous, wondering how Regina would react to what she had to tell her.

Regina stopped at one particular point to watch as she saw the moon starting to peak over the treetops on the other side of the reservoir.

"It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" Regina turned, hearing Alex’s voice from somewhere above her in the dark.

"It is. The moon looks so close tonight." She turned, looking around her. "Hey, where did you go?"

Alex chuckled softly. "Up here."

"Oh, well that helps." Regina yelped and jumped away as Alex dropped down beside her from her perch on top of a large boulder. "That was mean." Regina glared at Alex.

"Sorry, I thought you heard me climb up there. Come on up and sit with me." Alex scrambled back up the boulder and reached down to help Regina up.

The doctor sat down, leaning back against the smooth face of the rock behind her and reached a hand up to guide Regina down in front of her. "You ok sitting like this?" she asked, as Regina sat down between her outstretched legs.

"Yeah, I’m fine."

She felt the smaller woman shiver as a faint breeze rustled the leaves overhead. Alex leaned closer, her breath warm against her ear. "Are you cold?"

"Just a little." Regina wrapped her arms around herself.

"Lean back." The taller woman slipped her arms over Regina’s and rubbed her hands up and down. "Is that better?"

"You’re like a hot coal." Regina relaxed against Alex, feeling the softness of her breasts pressing against her back. She felt Alex’s chest expand as she took a deep breath and let it out.

"Mm. Just warm blooded." Alex pulled Regina against her, inhaling the scent of her hair as she rested her cheek against the top of her head.

Regina closed her eyes enjoying the warmth of Alex’s strong arms wrapped around her. She felt safe and secure sitting here with her. Her thoughts drifted around their friendship and Regina decided that in the short time that she had known Alex, the doctor had come to mean a great deal to her.

The younger woman tilted her head back to look up at Alex. "Do you come out here a lot?" She reached a hand up and touched her palm to Alex’s face, feeling her smile and pressed into the touch.

"Yeah, it’s quiet and peaceful at night."

I think I’d be afraid to come out here by myself." Regina clasped her hands over Alex’s arms.

Alex glanced down at Regina. "Are you uncomfortable being here?"

"No, I like it, Alex. I like being here with you."

Alex smiled at the last remark. There was no denying the bond growing between them. Since Lana’s death, she allowed herself to drift aimlessly, hardly caring that the world and everything in it was passing her by. It just hadn’t seemed worth the effort to take back her life until now. "Regina, have you thought about what you’re doing after this residency?"

"I’m not sure yet. I had a couple of offers. One was in Boston at a family practice. I thought I might go back home at one point, be closer to my family."

Alex tried not to let her disappointment come through in her voice. "Is that what you’re still planning to do?" She looked down, biting her lower lip as she waited for Regina’s answer.

Regina rested her head back on Alex’s shoulder. "I don’t think it really matters anymore if I go home or not."

"Why would you say that?" Alex asked, peering down at Regina’s face.

Regina sighed. "I had a fight with my mother and it just came out - about my lifestyle. It wasn’t exactly the best way to break the news to her and I haven’t heard from her since."

"So, they’re not talking to you?" She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised considering what Regina’s mother had done to her older brother.

Regina shook her head. "Nope, they won’t return my calls. Hey, I don’t really want to talk about it." Regina looked up at her friend. "What about you, Alex? You’ve never talked about your family."

Alex gave Regina a surprised glance. "Not much to tell. My father was an alcoholic. He was a mean son of a bitch when he was drunk, which was most of the time." Alex shrugged her shoulders. "My mother just endured it. I guess she didn’t think she deserved better at the time. The best thing that happened was when she gathered me and my brother up one night and walked out."

Regina squeezed Alex’s hand. "I’m so sorry, Alex."

"It was a long time ago." Alex looked away from Regina. Damn, I can still hear them yelling at each other. Where the hell is this coming from?

"How old were you?" Regina could see Alex clench her jaw, turning her face away at the question.

"I don’t know, maybe thirteen or fourteen." Alex closed her eyes trying to clamp down on the painful memories of what became a vicious cycle of going from one shelter to another as her mother tried many times to break away from her father’s abusive nature.

When her mother lost her job and couldn’t pay the rent, Alex and her brother Michael were separated and sent to different foster families. The whole thing had been one agonizing nightmare that seemed like it would never end at the time.

"Where’s your mother now?" Regina asked, keeping a firm hold on Alex’s hand. She could feel the woman behind her tense at the question.

"Last I knew she was out west in Arizona." Alex told her. "I…we don’t really talk to each other that much anymore."

Alex squeezed Regina against her and was quiet for a time, lost in her own thoughts. She decided that night in the hospital as she lay next to Regina while she slept, that regardless of the consequences, even if it meant losing her friendship, she needed to be honest with her. She cared about her young friend and she at least deserved to hear the truth about what happened with Dana and Lana. "Regina, I need to tell you something."

"What?" She twisted around, hearing the catch in Alex’s voice.

Alex pulled her hand away and let her arms rest on her knees. "Listen, you know I sold drugs for Dana when I was in medical school."

"Alex, you don’t owe me any explanations. It was along time ago," Regina said quietly.

"Just let me say this. Please?" It would be so easy to simply omit the events that took place then.

Regina nodded her head, not quite sure that she wanted to hear what Alex had to tell her.

"I wasn’t stupid Regina. I knew what I was getting into and I was just desperate enough to do it so I could help Lana get the medicine she needed." Alex’s throat muscles worked as she swallowed. "The medicine I thought she needed because I was so full of myself…thought I knew what was best for her at the time. I was too damn blind to see that all she wanted to do was to let go and die."

"Alex, you don’t have to tell me this," Regina protested feebly. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to protect herself or Alex from hearing what she had to say.

"Yes, I do," Alex insisted, quietly. "If I don’t tell you now," she looked up at the sky and took a breath, "you’ll just find out later."

"What are you talking about?" Regina asked, frowning up at her friend.

"I’ve done some pretty fucked up things in my life, did more drugs than I care to think about, had sex just for the hell of it, and used people because it suited my purposes at the time."

Regina was quiet as she absorbed all that Alex was telling her.

"There’s something else, Regina. I…I set Dana up last week."

Regina turned around so she could see her friend’s face in the moonlit darkness. "What are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Alex closed her eyes, unable to look at Regina as the shock slowly registered on her face. "I set up a drug deal the day I was at Dana’s store. The police always had a hunch that Dana was dealing drugs out of the cellar but didn’t have enough to get a warrant. I just helped them along."

Regina’s jaw worked several times before she uttered a single word. "You what? But, wait a minute, what about the store? I thought it was yours, now. Doesn’t that connect you?" Regina asked, trying desperately to make some sense of what Alex was telling her.

Alex shook her head. "I never inherited the store." She pulled the envelope out of her jacket that the lawyer gave to her and held it out to Regina. "You can read it later, if you want to."

Regina took the envelope from Alex and held it loosely in her hands. "You told me that you inherited it, Alex." Regina wasn’t sure what hurt more, the fact that Alex lied to her or that she didn’t trust her enough to tell her what was going on.

Alex felt Regina pull away from her. "I know I did." The doctor lifted herself up from behind Regina and jumped down to the ground. She walked over and leaned against a tree by the water’s edge. Somehow the physical distance made it easier to tell Regina what she had done.

"The title to the store was always in Dana’s name, not mine. Lana set it up with the lawyer before she died. It was all a set up so Dana would get caught, if I kept my promise. Lana made sure of it."

"What did you promise to do, Alex?" Regina’s voice broke the silence.

"It’s complicated." Alex turned around in the dark. She could see Regina’s body silhouetted in the moonlight, still sitting on the rock, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, watching her.

"Well, why don’t you try and explain it to me Alex, because I’d really like to try and understand." Regina stared back at her.

Alex sighed and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Lana turned the store over to her sister when she got too sick to run it herself. When she found out what Dana was doing with the store, it just made a bad situation worse."

"Didn’t she try and stop her?"

"Of course she did, Regina." Alex turned around angrily. "It was her kid sister who’d been a screw up for half of her life. Lana kept trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. She always believed that Dana would turn around somehow."

"I guess she never did." Regina carefully lowered herself to the ground and walked toward her brooding friend.

Alex was quiet for a minute. "No, and when Lana found out what I’d done to get the medication for her – I might as well have stuck a knife in her back and twisted it."

"So what happened?"

Alex focused on Regina for the first time since she started talking. "Before she died I promised Lana I’d take care of her sister, get her out of the store and off the drugs. It was Lana’s last request." Alex stared down at her hands helplessly. "I would have done anything to make it all up to her. I messed everything up between us."

"So you set Dana up? What was that supposed to accomplish?" Regina stared up at Alex, seeing the tense outline of her profile in the darkness.

"I already tried everything else. You can’t force an adult into drug rehab and Dana couldn’t handle stopping cold - she always went back to it. I figured if she lost the store and got thrown in jail, it would be hard, but she would be forced off the drugs and away from dealing them."

"Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing, Alex?"

Alex ran a hand through her hair and stared out into the darkness. "I didn’t know what was going to happen, what I would have to do that day." Her voice trailed off. "To Dana, sex and drugs have always meant power and control. She’s an expert at manipulation."

Regina dropped her eyes, feeling a knot starting in the pit of her stomach, as she realized what Alex was referring to. "Did…did you sleep with her?" Regina stammered.

Alex jerked her head up and looked over at Regina. "No, no. Regina, please believe me. I just got her involved enough to let her think that we were going to. I injected her with Rohypnol so she wouldn’t remember anything afterwards. I needed time to find her book that had all of her contacts in it."

Regina shook her head in disbelief and ran both her hands through her hair. "You what? How? Where did you get it? I mean, Jesus, Alex, that stuff is illegal."

"So is selling drugs, Regina."

"Damn it Alex, you know what I mean," Regina snapped at her.

"I bought it from someone. Enough money can buy you just about anything you want today."

"Alex, didn’t you think about what could happen if you got caught?" Regina peered up at the woman, her pale eyes hidden by her dark bangs. She could see the walls rising up, one by one, slowly pushing her away and shutting her out. The blonde leaned forward, gently cupped Alex’s cheek with her hand, lifting her head and watching her eyes close as a single tear ran down her face. Regina brushed it away with her thumb.

Alex let out a caustic laugh and wiped her face with her hands, pulling away from the smaller woman’s touch. "At the time Regina, I really didn’t care anymore. By rights I should have lost my license to practice medicine and been thrown in jail." She let out a breath and turned away, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were the last person I ever expected to be on the other end of the phone that night you called me." Alex’s voice was a hoarse whisper. She leaned back against the tree wishing it would just mercifully swallow her up and let her disappear.

"When you said you weren’t coming back, I knew you were talking about more than just the hospital." Regina took hold of Alex’s arm and squeezed it. "I couldn’t let you do that, Alex."

Alex shook her head. "You weren’t supposed to be there. If something went wrong, I didn’t want you involved."

"And what did you expect me to do if something did go wrong, just walk away? I couldn’t do that if I wanted to, Alex."

The taller woman shook her head. "Regina, don’t do this," she pleaded. "Please I…I’m not…shit." Her voice cracked and she pulled her face away from Regina’s touch. "I don’t know why you’d want to be involved with me. All I’ve ever managed to do is hurt people." Alex turned her head away and angrily wiped the tears from her face.

"Damn it, that’s not true. And I already told you I didn’t know you then. I only know the person you are now. Alex, please don’t shut me out," Regina whispered to her. Can’t you see I’ve been falling in love with you since we met?

She stepped up in front of her and slipped her arms around Alex’s waist, pulling her into a hug. She could hear the hammering of Alex’s heartbeat beneath her ear. Slowly it calmed, as the tension in Alex’s body relaxed ever so slowly. Alex slid her own arms around the blonde holding onto her tightly as she buried her face in Regina’s shoulder, her body shuddering as a sob quietly escaped her lips.

Regina felt a blanket of peacefulness surround them and she could have stayed like that wrapped securely in Alex’s arms, her head resting comfortably on her shoulder, listening to her heartbeat. Finally, she pulled away and took Alex’s face in both her hands feeling the soft strands of Alex’s dark hair brush against the back of her hands.

Regina smoothed her bangs and smiled wistfully at Alex and when she finally opened her eyes and looked at her, she wondered when her heart betrayed her and started to cross that invisible line between friendship and something much deeper. She realized as she stood there that she couldn’t walk away from Alex because the feeling of doing just that and playing it safe tore at her heart in a way she never imagined possible.

She wasn’t sure who initiated it, but they were both leaning closer, slowly closing the space between them. It was the barest of touches as their lips brushed together, then Regina felt Alex pull back and look at her, raising trembling fingers to touch her face. The taller woman ducked her head again to kiss Regina and then pulled her back into a fierce embrace.

Regina hardly remembered the walk back to the Jeep in the dark. She just remembered Alex handing her the keys and slumping down into the passenger seat, staring numbly out the window. She cast a couple of wary glances at Alex on the drive back to her condo and wondered what it taken for the woman to confide in her.

Regina couldn’t shake the image from her head of Alex leaning against the tree, eyes closed, with tears running down her face. It was obvious that Alex had been deeply hurt by Lana’s death and her involvement with Dana. It was as though a part of her had been destroyed and even now a piece of her was still missing.

Regina stepped out of the Jeep and tucked Alex’s keys in her pocket, firmly shaking her head as Alex reached her hand out for them.

"You’re not driving home like this, Alex." Despite her protests, Regina took hold of Alex’s arm and guided her back to the condo. The blonde closed the door behind them and set the keys on the table. She watched as Alex walked over to the couch and slumped down, resting her head in her hands.

"Alex, are you ok?" Regina walked over and sat down next to her, resting a hand on her knee.

The brunette straightened her shoulders and pulled away from Regina. She never revealed to anyone what she told Regina tonight, and it left her feeling raw and vulnerable inside. A large part of her expected the resident to tell her to just get lost and she wouldn’t have blamed her if she had.

"Yeah, I’m fine." She mentally slammed the doors closed on the emotions lying just beneath her ragged defenses. Alex stood up, avoiding Regina’s eyes. "I’m sorry, Regina, I don’t usually get like that. I should go." She started to walk away, looking for her keys.

"Alex, wait." Regina reached out and grasped Alex’s hand, turning her palm over and bringing it to her lips. She kissed the soft skin as she looked up at Alex’s face, watching as the dark-haired woman closed her eyes, swaying slightly as she stood in the middle of the floor.

Regina stood up and reached her hand out to touch Alex, running her fingers lightly over her lower lip. The taller woman leaned into Regina’s touch, closing her own hand over the smaller one and resting her cheek against it. She stood silently, not trusting her voice.

"Stop running away from me. I want you to stay," Regina whispered, pulling her closer, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.

They stood there holding onto each other until Alex finally opened her eyes, looking down into trusting green ones. Regina reached up, gently capturing Alex’s lips with her own. It was a long slow exploration, slowly building in its intensity, both of them feeling the desire building as they melted against each other caresses.

Alex felt an electric current go through her, followed by a sense of panic that she was doing the wrong thing. She didn’t want to force Regina into anything she didn’t feel comfortable with, and having made that mistake once already, she didn’t intend to repeat it. The doctor broke off the kiss and gently unwrapped Regina’s arms from around her waist. She leaned forward touching her forehead to Regina’s. "Oh god, you have no idea what you’re doing to me."

"Then stay." Regina let her hand drift down to Alex’s, clasping their hands together.

"No, I should go, so you can get some sleep. We’ve got to be in early in the morning." Alex rubbed her back, enjoying the pressure of Regina’s body pressed against hers.

Regina picked her head up. "Alex, it’s late. Just stay, please?"

Alex regarded her quietly, then smiled, hanging her head down. "It seems I have no defense for you."

"You don’t need one," Regina whispered and tugged her hand as she led her into the bedroom. "Here." She rummaged through one of her drawers and tossed a tee shirt to the doctor. "You look good in them." She folded her arms over her chest and pursed her lips watching Alex’s reaction. "Hmm, it was especially nice seeing you stand there by the sliding door."

"Y…You were awake?" She buried her face in the tee shirt and groaned audibly as she remembered standing by the sliding door watching the blonde sleep. "Let me go get changed before I get in any more trouble."

When she returned from the bathroom, Regina was already curled up on the mattress, smiling as Alex approached the bed. The doctor crawled into the bed and stretched out beside the blonde. "I can’t believe you were awake," she whispered into her ear.

Regina snickered and snuggled closer to her friend. "You’re blushing."

"I am not," Alex growled, covering her eyes with her arm.

"You are too," Regina teased and pulled the blankets up over the both of them.

Alex smiled at the gentle banter and whispered back to her. "I am not."

"Give it up, you’re busted and you know it." The blonde rubbed her hand over Alex’s stomach, smiling as she heard the older woman’s breathing deepen as she relaxed in the bed. "Alex?"

"What?" The doctor slowly opened her eyes and looked over at the younger woman.

"Thanks for trusting me tonight. It means a lot to me that you do." Regina said, her eyes twinkling gently as she smiled up at the woman.

Alex stared at Regina incredulously. "I…um, you’re welcome," she whispered, then reached up and turned off the light.

Continued - Part 7

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